


Quiet Promises

by captkatebae



Series: Angst Fluff Prompts [1]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, OTP Feels, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-25 01:10:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14965856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captkatebae/pseuds/captkatebae
Summary: Tentatively reaching her hand out, she cupped his face sweetly, running her thumb along his cheek.  “Always there for me,” she stated as if to herself, “even when I feel the most alone.”





	Quiet Promises

**Author's Note:**

> In response to the Angst/Fluff prompts - numbers 81 "It's cold you should take my jacket" and 84 "Going somewhere?" (J/C) for admiralkatcornwellfan

Away from the party, lights danced on the walls and the soft sound of chatter ebbed towards him. Long shadows cast in his direction and the distance from the crowd made this corner a place of concealment, a sanctuary. He took the mouthpiece of the hookah and placed it at his lips, inhaling slowly. Why his people had ever quit this small indulgence he couldn’t fathom as the tobacco mixed with his recent intake of alcohol spread through him calming his disquieted nerves.

Listlessly his eyelids closed. Now would be a good time to go back to the ship his brain told him, and yet he knew he wouldn’t leave.

Images played across the backs of his eyelids. Their crew intermingled with the natives of this planet lounging, partaking in food and drink and indulging in joyous laughter. Upbeat music filled the open-air hall as the more daring found themselves on a dance floor swaying to the lilting notes. Greylin, having set a special space for two, secluded from the rest of the crowd, leaned in and whispered into the ear of his flushed commanding officer.

For the brief moment he had seen Kathryn, he wouldn’t forget how she looked. With hair pulled back, the emerald green halter dress left bare her shoulders and most of her back. The front cut low enough that any man with eyes would chance a second look and the soft material hugged her shape to her hips.

Caught staring, Kathryn quirked a half smile in his direction. “Acceptable Commander,” she asked teasingly before Greylin, their planetary host, had whisked her away.

The music in the hall transitioned from upbeat to slow and seductive. When their host had stood, offering Kathryn his hand and then guided her towards the dance floor with a palm planted on the bare skin of her lower back, Chakotay took his leave.

For the past seven days Chakotay had observed from a distance as Greylin set meeting after meeting with Captain Janeway, all in the name of diplomacy. Yet his personal interest and advances towards the captain were hardly disguised. Tonight was their last evening, ending in a farewell celebration for the entire crew. And Greylin’s excessive setup for two left no one wondering about his intentions for the evening.

Chakotay had seen enough. Kathryn could handle herself. And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to leave here, to leave her.

The light taps of heels against concrete caused his eyes to snap open. The long shadow of a woman’s silhouette stretched out before him. He watched from his darkened corner as the figure approached the outskirts of the hall.

She hadn’t seen him as she passed but her gaze remained trained on the low-lit gardens surrounding the building. Two paths led down from their location into the expansive gardens and curved back and forth until they were no longer visible.

Kathryn lifted her hands rubbing them over her arms as a cool breeze blew through the hall, her eyes shifting from one garden path to the other.

From out of the dark his voice sounded, “It’s cold, you should take my jacket.”

She jumped, startled out of her reverie. As she turned towards his voice, her hands lifted in protest, “Chakotay you don’t need to...”

But he had already risen from the lounger, removed his jacket and was about to place it atop her shoulders.

Graciously Kathryn accepted the kind gesture. “Thank you,” she mumbled with her head tilted downward as Chakotay swung his jacket around her frame and let it fall into place. 

“You’re welcome,” he responded, as he placed his broad hands on her arms and rubbed them up and down, mimicking her earlier movements.

“What are you doing over here by yourself,” she asked.

Not fully wanting to answer her question he teased her, “I could ask you the same thing Captain.”

A small smile crept across her lips as she nodded her head, “Valid point.”

He was truly surprised to see her here, alone, without Greylin in tow. “Kathryn, is everything okay?”

She looked around before returning her gaze to him. He could tell there was something she was ready to confess and then, “What were you doing in this dark corner? What is that contraption?” She moved from his grasp into the dark towards his hiding place.

Chakotay didn’t hesitate to follow. “It reminiscent of a hookah Captain. On Earth it was used with tobacco to create an inhalable vapor. It’s meant to act as a calming substance, at least that’s what my people used it for.”

“Aaahh, yes. I’ve heard of it - tobacco.”

Chakotay sat and then placed his hand on the empty spot next to him. “Come and sit for a while.”

She looked hesitant but then acquiesced, sitting and turning herself in towards him.

Her face and neck were still flush with alcohol consumption, but she seemed nervous, a bit on edge. “Here,” he offered, taking the mouthpiece of the hookah and moving it towards her lips, “give it a try.”

Trusting him, Chakotay watched mesmerized as she wrapped her lips around the mouthpiece and inhaled. Breaking the seal her lips had created, she exhaled slowly allowing her eyes to close as the vapor drifted from her parted lips. 

He would have sworn she had done this before. Relishing in the quiet companionship they offered one another, each of them took another turn, passing the inhaler between them.

Finally, Chakotay broke the silence, “You look stunning tonight.”

Her signature half smile spread to her lips. “I had noticed your glances earlier this evening,” she teased.

“I wasn’t trying to hide them,” he stated boldly.

She accepted the compliment, “Thank you.”

The next words escaped him too quickly, “I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

She didn’t pretend to be ignorant of his meaning. “I can handle myself.”

“Yes, but you should understand his intentions...” Chakotay continued.

“This is really none of your business Commander,” she cut in, warning him.

He shouldn’t have pried into her personal affairs and perhaps jealousy was partially to blame, but he could tell something was wrong – that she didn’t seem quite herself.

“I should be getting back,” she stated, rising from the couch. She smoothed her dress with her hands and took a couple steps before Chakotay rose behind her. In one long step, he caught her by the forearm. She didn’t wrestle herself from his grasp. “This is just something I need to do,” she whispered resigned.

Not wanting to be too forward, Chakotay guided her back into the shadows and turned her, placing her back against a wall. He leaned in close so she could see that he was serious, “I don’t pretend to know what happened during those private meetings with Greylin, Kathryn, but you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” 

Tentatively reaching her hand out, she cupped his face sweetly, running her thumb along his cheek. “Always there for me,” she stated as if to herself, “even when I feel the most alone.”

Taking both of her hands in his, he lowered his head to her’s, their foreheads touching lightly. “Why do you ever doubt me?”

They both inhaled and exhaled slowly, breathing each other in.

Suddenly vulnerable, Kathryn tilted her head to brush her lips against his. It was soft and timid, as if she were unsure, but as she tasted him and his lips and body responded, she deepened the kiss. 

He let go of her hands as she raised them and wrapped them around his neck, entwining her fingers at the base of his hair line; she pulled him down to her. 

He pushed her back against the wall firmly braced and then planted his hands on her hips and moved his body against her’s. Like puzzle pieces, the contours of their bodies fit together.

A desperate moan escaped her lips as they parted, drawing his tongue into her mouth. She was coming unhinged in his arms and Chakotay needed to stop this before it went too far. He pulled back reluctantly trying to collect a sane thought. 

He took several deep breaths. “I’m here for you, but I won’t sabotage you.” He waited for her to regain her composure, then tenderly requested, “Tell me what it is you need.”

As if nothing else existed, “Take me from this place.”

There was a gentle pleading in her eyes so he didn’t question her. Instead he took her hand and laced their fingers together, moving them towards one of the garden paths. They started their decent, hopeful of the privacy the gardens would grant them.

“Going somewhere,” came a booming voice from behind them. 

They stopped, caught under the first garden light. As Kathryn turned, Chakotay begrudgingly let go of her hand. “Greylin,” she stated innocently, “my First Officer was just, um, was just taking me on a tour of the gardens.” As she spoke, she pulled the coat from her shoulders and returned it to his opened hand, the prospect of their secret escape passing between them.

“There’s not much to see this late at night,” he responded matter of fact. Kathryn had already started to return to the hall, ascending the path. “I couldn’t find you anywhere,” Greylin continued sternly, reaching a hand for her, “shall we continue our evening?”

Snapped back into Captain mode, she responded cordially, “Of course.”

Finally turning to face the two of them, Chakotay forewarned, “Captain, I’ll be here, waiting for you.” Perhaps he was overstepping, but he wanted Greylin to know someone was watching.

Grateful, a large smile spread across her face that reached her eyes – a silent “thank you”. She nodded her head in acknowledgement and then turned, her step confident as she returned to the party.


End file.
